https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/20/20-866/164690/20201223160259853_Allen%20Petition.pdf
This is such a terrible bank.
It is now well known that, beginning about 18 years
ago, Wells Fargo adopted high-pressure sales practices
that led its employees to open millions of unauthorized
customer accounts. Between whistleblowers, misconduct
reports, and eventually government investigations, Wells
Fargo insiders knew all of this. But they concealed the
fraud from the public—and from investors, including
employees whose retirement accounts were deposited in
an employee stock ownership fund, or ESOP, consisting of
company stock. Once the problem was inevitably revealed,
Wells Fargo stock collapsed and its reputation for
integrity was ruined. Investors lost billions, and
employees invested in the company’s ESOP lost their
retirement savings.
Private investors were able to recover for the harm
Wells Fargo’s concealment caused. They sued the bank
under the federal securities laws and state corporate law,
alleging that Wells Fargo executives breached their
obligations to the company and its investors because they
knew about the widespread fraud and yet failed to publicly
disclose it. Those claims survived a motion to dismiss and
reached a settlement—even though some (those alleging
securities laws violations) are subject to one of the highest
pleading standards in civil law, while others (those
alleging breach of state-law fiduciary obligations) are
considered “possibly the most difficult theory in
corporation law” upon which to state a claim. In re
Caremark Int’l Inc. Derivative Litig., 698 A.2d 959, 967
(Del. Ch. 1996). On top of that, the SEC itself found that,
by failing to make an earlier corrective disclosure
concerning the fraud, Wells Fargo insiders had breached
their obligations under the securities laws.